Freezing tumors to supercharge immunotherapy: new hope for aggressive breast cancer?
NCT ID NCT06246968
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This early-phase trial tests whether freezing a tumor (cryoablation) can boost the immune response to the drug pembrolizumab in people with metastatic or locally advanced triple negative breast cancer. About 30 participants will be randomly assigned to receive either the combination or pembrolizumab alone. The goal is to see if the freezing procedure increases certain immune cells in the blood.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Pembrolizumab (a drug that helps the immune system fight cancer) and cryoablation (a procedure that freezes tumors)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a way to make immunotherapy more effective for hard-to-treat breast cancer.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very early Phase 1 trial with only 30 people, so results may not lead to a new standard treatment. The combination may not improve outcomes or could cause side effects.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 1
The first testing in people. Mainly checks safety and dose, usually in a small group.
- Participants
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About 30 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jan 2024
- Expected to finish
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Jan 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Patients ≥ 18 years of age * Confirmed histologic diagnosis of metastatic TNBC * 1 site amenable cryoablation of at least 1.5 cm in size as determined by an Interventional Radiologist. Eligible cryoablation sites include (but not limited to) soft tissue, liver, lung, and bone as determined by an Interventional Radiologist to be safest and most feasible. * Physically fit (clinically eligible) to undergo cryoablation as per usual clinical practice * Per clinical guidelines, women of childbearing age should use effective contraception during treatment with pembrolizumab and for at least 4 months after the last dose of the drug, which will be assessed and monitored by, and the responsibility of, the patient's medical oncologist (not study investigators or research team) as pembrolizumab is standard of care. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Pregnancy Standards will be followed prior to cryoablation. That is, female patients that are 11-50 years of age and of childbearing potential will undergo a pregnancy test within 2 weeks (15 days) before cryoablation. Pregnancy test will not be required in patients with bilateral oophorectomy, bilateral salpingectomy, bilateral salpingectomy-oophorectomy, hysterectomy, menopause (no menses ≥ 1 year prior to treatment or after completion of all treatment), or surgical sterilization (i.e. tubal ligation or blockage), with documentation of permanent exemptions in CIS ("Pregnancy Testing Exemption"). * Pembrolizumab therapy (200 mg every 3 weeks) planned as part of standard of care as first, second, or third line of therapy * Eligible for PD-1 inhibitor per the patient's medical oncologist, with planned treatment with PD-1 inhibitor per the patient's medical oncologist. Additional systemic therapy is per the patient's medical oncologist. The following systemic therapy will be accepted (the timing of the systemic therapy relative to pembrolizumab and cryoablation is not restricted): * Capecitabine (Xeloda, available as a generic drug) * Carboplatin (Paraplatin, available as a generic drug) * Cisplatin (Platinol, available as a generic drug) * Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan, available as a generic drug) * Docetaxel (Taxotere) * Doxorubicin (Adriamycin, available as a generic drug) * Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (Doxil) * Epirubicin (Ellence, available as a generic drug) * Eribulin (Halaven) * Fluorouracil (5-FU, Adrucil, available as a generic drug) * Gemcitabine (Gemzar, available as a generic drug) * Ixabepilone (Ixempra) * Methotrexate (available as a general drug) * Nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) * Paclitaxel (Taxol, available as a generic drug) * Vinorelbine (Navelbine, available as a generic drug) Exclusion Criteria: * Patient not eligible for PD-1 inhibitor per the patient's medical oncologist * No disease amenable for cryoablation * Pembrolizumab therapy not planned as part of standard of care
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
7 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Bergen (Limited Protocol Activities)
RECRUITINGMontvale, New Jersey, 07645, United States
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (All protocol activites)
RECRUITINGNew York, New York, 10065, United States
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center at Basking Ridge (Limited Protocol Activities)
RECRUITINGBasking Ridge, New Jersey, 07920, United States
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth (Limited protocol activities)
RECRUITINGMiddletown, New Jersey, 07748, United States
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Nassau (Limited Protocol Activites)
RECRUITINGRockville Centre, New York, 11553, United States
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Suffolk-Commack (Limited Protocol Activities )
RECRUITINGCommack, New York, 11725, United States
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Westchester (Limited Protocol Activities)
RECRUITINGHarrison, New York, 10604, United States
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